North Korea satellite images show military parade preparations despite COVID-19 scare

North Korea appears to be planning a massive military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the ruling party, as suggested by satellite images on Friday, September 18. 

As per reports, North Korea's ruling Workers' Party celebrates its foundation day on October 10 with military parades featuring scores of soldiers and new weapon systems in a show of strength. Meanwhile, the country is also reported to be simultaneously intensifying COVID-19 measures.

Read: Kim Jong-un's Sister Wants North Korea's Kids To Spend 90 Mins Daily Learning About Him

Anti-Coronaavirus measures to be intensified

North Korea has insisted that the country has not even encountered one case of the novel coronavirus but experts have refuted the country’s claims as a cover-up. North’s Korea's Central News Agency on Monday, September 14 announced the intensification of anti-coronavirus measures in an effort to ensure that people continue to remain vigilant and strictly follow COVID-19 measures.

According to reports, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the many problems that have gripped North Korea in recent times. The country has also had to contend with a vicious typhoon and ongoing US sanctions. In response to the worsening COVID-19 crisis, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un closed down the border with China, its largest trading partner. Experts believe that as a result, the country’s already unstable economy has worsened.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 30 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 950,000.

Read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un Praises Army For Rebuilding Typhoon-hit Area: Report

North Korea to conduct an underwater missile test

South Korean on Wednesday, September 16 reported that the North is likely to carry out an underwater ballistic missile test once it has repaired the damage caused by recent typhoons at its northeastern Sinpo shipyard.

North Korea is suspected to have performed an underwater missile launch test last October, its first underwater missile test in three years, and the most provocative action taken by the country since entering nuclear negotiations with the United States in 2018.

(With AP inputs)

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